This weekend, Bengaluru will be treated to a one-woman show. Yuki Ellias, a Mumbai-based powerhouse performer will be bringing to the city her play Elephant in the Room that won her the awards for best actor, costume and lighting at the 2017 Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards. Directed and performed by Yuki herself, the play is inspired by the tales of Ganapati, and is a eccentric and touching reinterptation of the myth.
Yuki Ellias
A young boy called Master Tusk is given a new elephant head and gets lost in the forest. He chances upon quirky characters in a forest which transforms his whole life. Yuki elaborates, “On his journey while looking for his head, he looks for his own identity and who he is as a boy, a god and a wild animal,” says Yuki who will be showcasing nine different characters on stage. “There is a lot of dialogues between characters who are all different, and charming in their own way. I transform into each character using physicality and voice. The body language is different for each character, and the costume is designed to transform efficiently,” she adds. The music for the play was composed especially for it and the elements of sound and light bring this story together where she plays off of the music.
Yuki feels that myths are all about understanding the questions of life. “My attempt is to make my audience think about myths differently again. Myths, ritually were about raising questions and not giving you straight up answers for life. I think we should constantly question things in life,” she stresses.
Yuki began her journey as an actor right from school and college. It took her to Paris where she studied theatre. She has been around the globe and has performed at leading theatre venues. “Along my journey as an actor, I became a teacher and then a director. The skills for creating theatre, crafting stories and directing are those that I acquired along the way,” says the girl who then progresses into direction and writing for her own plays, which came naturally to Yuki. “From just acting, my interest became more about the story I was telling. I began by directing work that I liked and working with performers that I liked. Elephant in the Room was co-written with a friend Sneh Sapru. Telling the right story is the most fundamental thing for me now and I enjoy that,” she says.
This show will be Yuki’s first time performing at an official theatre venue in Bengaluru. “I’m very excited to perform in a new space and for a new audience. I hope that the sixty minutes is extremely engaging for the audience and that it moves as well as entertains them,” she adds.
— The Elephant in the Room will be staged on Saturday at Jagriti Theatre in Whitefield at 3 pm and 8 pm.
